Rani Yahya hopes Henry Briones isn't hurt after he says ref took too long to intervene

MEXICO CITY – On Saturday, Rani Yahya needed approximately two minutes to bounce back from his first loss in more than three years and bring his record to a 5-1 in his past six outings.

It was a somewhat breezy win for Yahya (24-9 MMA, 9-3 UFC), who was quick to get fellow bantamweight Henry Briones (16-7-1 MMA, 1-3 UFC) where he wanted and seamlessly flow through submission positions before locking in the fight-ending kimura.

In a finish-heavy night at Mexico City Arena, the first-round submission wasn’t enough to earn Yahya a post-fight bonus. But who knows – maybe it earned him a little more respect.

“I think it’s more like – the trash-talking thing,” Yahya told MMAjunkie after the FS1-televised UFC Fight Night 114 preliminary card bout. “It’s not really my profile, to talk trash about a lot of people. But bro, I’m right there, man. This is my ninth win in the UFC (and) my 13th win under the Zuffa banner overall, since the WEC times.

“(Briones) fought Cody Garbrandt, and the fight went three rounds. They both got damage from that fight, a lot of blood. And I just came and beat that guy in two minutes, with no damage. So. I’m sure I’m right there.”

Briones did in fact fight champ Garbrandt to a decision, at UFC 189 in July 2015. Garbrandt, who then had a 1-0 octagon record, went on to knock out his following three opponents before the decision over Dominick Cruz that earned him the 135-pound title. Briones has gone on a three-fight losing skid since.

Yahya, in turn, is now recovered from a unanimous decision loss to Joe Soto at UFC Fight Night 106 in March. The Brasilia native switched things up for this camp, which he did at American Top Team. The decision paid dividends, as Yahya credits ATT’s Conan Silveira with advising him not to spend too much energy fixated in a single position and go with the flow of the fight.

The result of his willingness to look for other submissions when one – like an anaconda choke – wasn’t all the way there resulted on the perfect kimura. It’s a finish that Yahya is rather fond of, but hopes didn’t cause too much damage after being locked in for too long.

“I had his arm, he was already screaming and the referee took so long to stop the fight,” Yahya said. “But before, he went to the locker room, and said, ‘Just stop the fight when I put my hands on you.’ And it was there, like two or three seconds. I hope he doesn’t get injured or anything, but I think he will be OK.”

While he didn’t have a specific target in mind for his next fight, Yahya used his post-fight speech as an opportunity to ask for a spot in the upcoming UFC Fight Night 117 – which takes place Sept. 23 in Japan. Backstage, he explained why.

“I just want to fight in Japan because Japan is part of my career,” Yahya said. “I fought there seven times. I’ve had maybe like 10 Japanese opponents during my career. I think it’s a good opportunity for me.

“Most of the fighters in Asia – Japan, Korea, around that area – they’re light people. So, I think (UFC matchmaker) Sean (Shelby) can get a fight for me. If not, I will talk to my coaches to see what’s the best thing to do.”